Keeping Tables on One Page

Summary: Got a short table that you want to keep on a single page? You can use some of the paragraph formatting techniques you already know in order to accomplish the task. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, and Word 2003.)

As you develop more complex Word documents, it is inevitable that you will add tables. Most tables are relatively short, and can easily fit on a page. Because of this, it can be disconcerting to have a page break occur in the middle of a table. To keep all the rows of your table together, follow these steps:

Select all the rows in the table.
Choose Paragraph from the Format menu. Word displays the Paragraph dialog box.
Display the Line and Page Breaks tab. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Make sure the Keep Lines Together check box is selected.
Click on OK.

Now you need to repeat the same steps, with two minor variations. First, in step 1 select all the rows except the last one. Then, in step 4, make sure the Keep With Next check box is selected. This is necessary (performing this step with the last row not selected) so that the table stays together as a unit, rather than the table staying with the paragraph that follows it.

Tip #864 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003

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